Performance Today®

Igor Stravinsky borrowed all of the tunes from his ballet, "Pulcinella," from Italian music of the eighteenth century. But he put his own musical fingerprints on it. It's a delightful mix of old and new. We'll go to New York to hear a performance of the "Pulcinella" Suite by the New York Philharmonic.

A wonderful young piano trio called Trio Con Brio Copenhagen stopped by our studios recently for a visit. They sat down for an interview with host Fred Child and performed some inspired chamber music by Ravel and Smetana. Plus, we'll hear Wagner's overture to "The Flying Dutchman" from this year's Aspen Music Festival.

The first hour of our show features the music of Scandinavia. We'll hear music from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, culminating in the monumental piano concerto by Edvard Grieg. Grieg hailed from the lovely town of Bergen, Norway, and we'll hear pianist Andre Watts perform Grieg's concerto with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.

A wonderful young piano trio called Trio Con Brio Copenhagen stopped by our studios recently for a visit. They sat down for an interview with host Fred Child and performed some inspired chamber music by Ravel and Smetana. Plus, we'll hear Wagner's overture to "The Flying Dutchman" from this year's Aspen Music Festival.

Composer Alexander Borodin didn't quit his day job. He was a chemist, and his work led to some important inventions. In his spare time, he composed great music. Today we'll feature some great chemistry between the French National Orchestra and conductor Tugan Sokhiev, in a performance of Borodin's second symphony from Paris.

William Walton wrote his first symphony while he was in a turbulent romantic relationship. His girlfriend jilted him, and Walton poured his anger and heartbreak into his first symphony. The symphony ends on a happy note, after Walton met a new love. We'll hear the final two movements of the symphony by the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Simon Rattle.

Today's show features performers and composers with interesting family ties to one another. From brother and sister Gil and Orli Shaham, to father-in-law and son-in-law Antonin Dvorak and Josef Suk, to cousins (by marriage) Mozart and Weber, to the guitar-playing Romero family. It's all in the family, on Performance Today.

Johann Sebastian Bach: Siciliano from Oboe Concerto in F, BWV 1053 Oboist Heinz Holliger with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and conductor Iona Brown

The phone rang early on a Sunday morning. The conductor of the New York Philharmonic was sick, and the assistant conductor was asked to step in. Never mind that the assistant had a bad hangover, and there was no time to rehearse the orchestra. It was 65 years ago today that the young Leonard Bernstein's career was launched.